From a young age, today’s youth are exploring the phenomena of the global society that has been around for ages, but not invited inside the classrooms. In the past, exploring topics such as religious tolerance was often reserved for a handful of niche scholars. Today, teenagers are exploring it.

“To expand your understanding of different cultures… the only effort you truly have to make is keep an open mind to differing views and perspectives. The connections you make in doing so are worth it,” expressed Lara Fields, student from the Awty International School, at the Feast of Faiths Gala Tuesday night. “If a small group of rag tag teenagers can make a difference for themselves and their community, so can everyone in this room.”

Eloquently celebrated at the Bayou City Events Center, the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University biennially hosts the Feast of Faiths Gala to celebrate the Center’s youth educational programs that promote religious tolerance. The name, Feast of Faiths, was chosen because gala-goers enjoyed a multicultural menu inspired by cuisines from various religious traditions.

Boniuk Center’s youth programs, such as Sacred Sites Quest and Embracing Tolerance Essay Contest, help build bridges of religious literacy and mutual understanding between members of different faith traditions and spiritual or secular communities.

“We do want to build religious and interfaith literacy, but we also want to facilitate and nurture building meaningful relationships with each other across what some call— the faith line,” says Boniuk Center’s executive director, Mike Pardee. “We aim to learn and teach how— and why—we should work together and talk to each other about matters as important as faith.”

Pardee observes that many high school and college students are hungry for opportunities that allow them to open-up to the world outside of them. Boniuk Center’s Sacred Sites Quest is such an opportunity.

“They love visiting different houses of worship and observing various religious practices,” says Pardee about the youth participating in the Sacred Sites Quest. “They enjoy exploring the mysteries of faith— of their own as well as others.”

Youth participating in the Center’s projects understand that the world is not a uniform block that consists of only one culture, race, or religion. People do not all practice the same traditions, eat the same food, or dress the same way. Despite the differences, everyone is still human. The Face of Humanity is a public art mural created by youth participating in the 2012 Sacred Sites Quest that represents the world’s diversities. Aspects of many people, countries, and faiths color this mural.

“We find that the youth love to express themselves creatively, to share what they discover in all sorts of expressive ways,” says Pardee. “Some prefer writing; others prefer painting or creating other forms of visual art; others fancy film-making or public-speaking as a way to tell their stories.”

Representing the dreams and realities of a religiously tolerant society, The Face of Humanity was created along with three other public art murals: The Garden of the Diverse, Unity in Diversity, and Coexist. All four murals are now a permanent display on the walls outside of the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston (MOCAH).

Someone who has traveled all around the world, 60 countries to be precise, Judy Chapman has a unique point of view when it comes to religious tolerance. “I do think religious tolerance can work,” says Chapman, who serves on the Center’s advisory board. “I feel that very often the issues are really ones of wealth and power and we use religion to hide the true fears we have.” Chapman believes that positive relationships begin with positive experiences.